Staff Review: Aladino Cameroon Robusto
Introduction:
With today’s review, we will be taking a look at Aladino Cameroon. Aladino and the Eiroa family are probably best known for their signature Corojo tobacco, but I wouldn’t be surprised if their Honduran grown Cameroon takes the top spot in the next couple of years.
Feel free to skim the quick hits for an overview or jump into any section below to find the full details of Aladino Cameroon. Here we go!
The Quick Hits:
- Currently produced in six vitolas
- JRE may very well be the only company who has mastered growing Cameroon seed tobacco in another country
- Main tasting notes of cedar, natural sweetness, and red pepper flakes
- Recommended for: fans of BLK WKS Studio Hyena, Warped Futuro, Cohiba Red Dot
The Build:
Aladino Cameroon is really unlike any other cigar from Honduras at this point in time - featuring their one-of-kind Honduran grown Cameroon wrapper, and their signature Corojo that is used for the binder and filler tobaccos. The resulting flavor profile is as unique as any other cigar I have smoked in some time, but I will save that for later in the review.
The Look:
One of the things that JRE is trying to do with the Aladino brand is bring back the golden era of Cuban cigars (without using Cuban tobacco of course), and not just with the flavor profile, but the look and feel as well.
Here is hypothetical: if I was mildly familiar with what Cuban cigar bands typically look like, but didn’t know anything else about cigars, I would think that Aladino Cameroon was a Cuban cigar. If that didn’t make any sense (which is very likely), my point is that Aladino Cameroon, and the whole Aladino brand for that matter, has a very Cuban-esque look and feel to their band and box designs.
Aladino Cameroon’s band is very simple (in a good way) - the red and silver Aladino logo is the first thing that the eye is drawn to. Just beneath this primary logo, the word “CAMEROON” sits above “JULIO R. EIROA”, which is present on all of their core blends (Connecticut, Corojo, Maduro, and Cameroon). The red and silver color palate of the band has more than enough contrast to make the Aladino logo, which I think is one of the most easily recognizable logos in cigars at this point, really pop.
The main silver/gray finish of the box is really pleasing with the accents of the red text, and I wish this color combination this kind of color was used more often in cigars, but I digress. First and foremost, “ALADINO” sits on the top of the box and is followed by both “JRE TOBACCO FARM”, and “CAMEROON” underneath. The size name, in this case “ROBUSTO”, is emblazoned on the front and side panels of the box, with “ALADINO CAMEROON” sitting on the front panel as well.
All in all, a very simple and clean design for both the band and the box, which fits well with their attempt at bringing back the golden era of Cuban cigars.
The Experience:
I just have to start by saying I have never been the biggest fan of Honduran tobacco – I am not saying that I don’t like Honduran tobacco, but I have typically enjoyed cigars from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic much more. With that said, I have never smoked a cigar from Honduras that was quite like Aladino Cameroon. Maybe I just wasn’t smoking the best that the country had to offer.
Aladino Cameroon starts with a significant amount of cedar and red pepper up front and was pulled together by a pretty large amount of natural sweetness on the finish. I wasn’t sure what to expect at first light, but I have to say I was pretty surprised, not by the kinds of flavors, but by the amount of flavor. Through the first third, Aladino Cameroon was an absolute flavor bomb, and combined with the nearly flawless construction, was off to a very good start.
As I moved into the second third, the sweetness was slightly muted compared to the first third, but was still apparent nonetheless – rather than just a generic sweetness, it transitioned to more of a honey-like sweetness, which complemented the addition of oatmeal notes. The intensity of the red pepper and cedar stayed consistent through the second third, which helped keep the strength of Aladino Cameroon right in the medium-bodied range.
The final third was just as sweet and spicy as it was through the first two thirds, but the addition of notes of roasted almonds really helped to pull the whole profile together. At this point, the strength of Aladino Cameroon made its way to the medium to full-bodied mark, which I think helped to complement the flavor saturated flavor profile. There was one point where I had to pull my lighter out to correct a slightly uneven burn, but I honestly think this would’ve corrected itself.
This was a great first experience with Aladino Cameroon, and I’m really excited to see how this blend and the amount of flavor translates to the different vitolas, especially the Super Toro.
The Value:
Aladino Cameroon was interesting in that I wasn’t sure what the best part of it was – the flavor, the design, or the price. I am convinced that $9.00 for this blend is one of the better bargains in cigars at the moment as I would have happily paid $12.00+ without batting an eye. With $9.00 you’ll get to experience Honduran grown tobacco like never before, and you’ll be able to see what the future of Honduran grown tobacco really looks like.
Final Thoughts:
To sum it up, I was really impressed with Aladino Cameroon. Before smoking the blend, the only other offering I had smoked from the brand was Aladino Corojo, and I didn’t think that there was anyway that Aladino Cameroon could live up to that. Well, as usual, I was wrong. Not only do I think this is Aladino Cameroon is one of the best blends from Honduras, I think it’s genuinely one of the best regular production blends on the market.
If you are looking for a new cigar to try, or have been contemplating testing the waters with Aladino, then I am happy to give you my full endorsement of Aladino Cameroon. Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments.
